Senator David Norris' address to Seanad Eireann (the Irish Senate)

In Sept. 2007, fourteen months before Ireland's bank bailout, I resigned from my position as the Risk Manager of UniCredit Bank Ireland. I did that in order not to incriminate myself. I have spent the last 4 years seeking justice. On Feb. 23rd., 2010, I was fortunate to have Senator David Norris raise the matter in Seanad Eireann (the Irish Senate), and request a response from the Minister of Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan. Senator Norris concluded by stating that:

"...there is ministerial responsibility in this matter.
This is a grossly serious matter which has been reported to the Financial Regulator. A man has lost his job as a result. He honourably resigned. The degree of breach was 40 times the accepted margin. This is a disaster. If we are not prepared to face the issue and investigate it when it has been laid before the House, there is absolutely no hope for the financial system or its reputation worldwide...How can the Financial Regulator investigate himself? He was in breach of his responsibility."

In Nov. 2011, Emma Alberici, Europe correspondent for ABC TV, told my story as part of her documentary 'Going Rogue' which featured Nick Leeson and Sir John Vickers among other interviewees. It is ironic that at a time when the Irish tax-payer is bailing out un-secured bond holders, my story which occurred in Dublin, is deemed of interest to the Australian TV license payer. Please click on 'play video' on the following link:

Monday, 13 June 2011

A word of advice to those who have followed in my footsteps

One might easily be encouraged by this article in yesterday's Business Post:

IFSC whistleblowers reporting on firms -

Sunday Business Post, 12 June 2011, By Jon Ihle

Several employees of IFSC banks have come forward to report to the Central Bank possible undisclosed breaches of liquidity requirements at their institutions, The Sunday Business Post has learned.

Senior officials at the Central Bank, which issued an invitation Via The Sunday Business Post last January for whistleblowers to come forward in confidence, have met with the employees and taken statements from them. No investigations are underway at this stage, but it is understood regulators are still assessing the information.

The news comes just days after the Financial Regulator fined Scotia Bank Ireland, an IFSC-based bank, €600,000 for allowing its funding to fall below minimum levels without permission, and for failing to provide accurate information in its regulatory returns.

‘‘We have not closed our books on liquidity ratios at IFSC banks," said Peter Oakes, the Central Bank’s director of enforcement. Scotia Bank’s breaches were inadvertent, and the bank brought the matter to the Central Bank’s attention voluntarily, although its initial failure to comply with the requirement meant that the bank allowed its funding ratios to fall below the minimum permitted level.

It is understood that the bank faced a fine of as much as €1 million, but that its high levels of cooperation in reaching a settlement agreement with the regulator were taken into account.

The request for information on liquidity breaches came after a whistleblower alleged persistent violations at Unicredit Ireland in 2007.

The Central Bank said its investigation only confirmed an earlier inquiry, which found that the bank had fallen below minimum funding limits just once.

Do proceed with caution. Having recently met with senior officials at the Central Bank of Ireland, I can confirm that there was a need for some further clarification regarding what the CB meant when it offered 'confidentiality' in its statement to the Business Post last January.

Village magazine published the following item last Saturday:

Whistling into a gale -

Village magazine, June-August 2011, Miscellany, page 32Nearly all Ireland's banks breached liquidity requirements, leading to the lack of liquidity that the government provided a guarantee against, and which ultimately emerged as the insolvency that has bankrupted the country and immiserated the next generation. It's important then to know what happened. In last December's Village a risk-manager whistleblower in the Irish unit of UniCredit, Italy's biggest bank, described how the Financial Regulator failed to intervene when he well... blew the whistle on massive repeated breaches, but no action followed. Shortly afterwards, largely as a result of the story, the Central Bank said it would conduct a review of the case and invited parties with information to share it. Things dragged out, but last month the risk-manager attended a meeting with the office of the regulator. The only thing is the Bank's offer of 'confidentiality' clearly was not enough to safeguard our hero's privilege against self incrimination. The [Central] Bank insists it must forward information to the DPP [Director of Public Prosecutions] if there is evidence of a crime. There the issue rests - for the moment.